Michigan football added a key piece to the 2023 roster on Wednesday with the commitment of transfer portal cornerback Josh Wallace. Here are three thoughts.
It’s crazy how far Michigan football has come in terms of the transfer portal and on Wednesday, the Wolverines made another big addition by landing former UMass cornerback Josh Wallace.
This commitment wasn’t really a surprise. Wallace visited Michigan football over the weekend and has been trending with expert projections since.
However, it’s a big addition. Wallace had offers from 11 programs coming out of the transfer portal, which included Oklahoma, Penn State, and Virginia Tech. There was talk that the Hokies promised him a starting job.
Wallace has a good shot to start at Michigan. He’ll have to earn it though and here are three thoughts on his commitment to the Wolverines.
The Wolverines fill their biggest need
Ever since the winter transfer portal window, Michigan football has been looking for help at cornerback and the Wolverines finally got it in Wallace.
Not only is Wallace 6-foot-1, but he’s a tough dude. In each of the past two seasons, he was credited with 32 solo tackles. That’s in addition to a combined 20 pass breakups.
Wallace has two interceptions last season and has played well over 2,000 snaps in his college football career. That’s good news all around for Michigan football, which has talent, but also inexperience at cornerback.
Amorion Walker, Jyaire Hill, Ja’Den McBurrows, Cameron Calhoun, and others could emerge as starters or key players next season. But Wallace has more experience and after having played for former Michigan football DC Don Brown, the staff is going to have inside knowledge.
Overall, I love this addition for Michigan football and you have to feel like the Wolverines’ ties to the UMass coaching staff helped.
Michigan’s elite transfer portal haul
Not many of us probably expected Michigan football to put together a stellar transfer portal class, but that’s exactly what happened.
The Wolverines can’t land every star in the transfer portal. They don’t have a massive NIL program as some other big-name programs do. There are also admissions issues with underclassmen.
But Michigan football was smart in targeting players that could get admitted (mostly graduates) and filled a bunch of key needs.
Wallace was just the latest. But Josaiah Stewart filled the need for a proven edge rusher. A.J. Barner essentially replaces Luke Schoonmaker at tight end, while the offensive line added Drake Nugent and LaDarius Henderson, who are both expected to start.
Yet, it wasn’t just graduate transfers. Michigan can usually get kids without any admissions hiccups after their freshman season, so the Wolverines pounced on Ernest Hausmann too.
Hausmann is still one of the top-ranked additions from the transfer portal and he’s going to have a huge impact, even though Michigan is stacked at linebacker.
A loaded roster
Looking up and down the Michigan football roster heading into the 2023 season, you can see why the Wolverines are a favorite to make the College Football Playoff once again.
Ohio State is right there with Michigan and some odds even have the Buckeyes rated a little higher, as does the ESPN FPI.
However, Michigan football is absolutely loaded. The cornerback position was one area of concern, if you call having one of the best players in the country (Will Johnson) and an elite nickel (Mike Sainrsitil) a concern. It was more about depth and now Michigan football has it.
The truth is, you can never have enough depth at cornerback or the defensive line. Michigan football is loaded at both spots and basically everywhere, on both sides of the ball.
There isn’t a single gap on this roster and at most positions, the Wolverines are a legit two-deep. Hell, the backups on this roster could be a mid-level Big Ten team.
They would at least make a bowl game and this addition of Wallace is just another reason to be insanely excited about the 2023 Michigan football season.